The lawn is brown, trees bare, dirty snow blankets the walkway, the house colder with limited sunlight. The dark days of winter are upon us, the harsh weather conditions can make selling a home more stressful, but sellers don’t need to hibernate until the spring.

Home stagers can create a win-win situation for you and your client. In this scenario the Realtor we referred sold a home, the homeowner got to move on, and as a home stager, we got to transform an amazing home; the best part we all made money in just days! By adding a home stager to your real estate team, these situations won’t be uncommon. A good stager is a partner in your success, we can help you close at listing presentations, get more listings, help your clients stand out and brand your business and listings.

While no home staging company is created equal, they do all possess one skill their employees are multi-taskers, so it seems fitting that these companies offer an array of services tailored to the homeowner’s needs. Home staging is more than just cleaning and decluttering, it’s about lifestyle merchandising and viewing the home as a product. That’s why professional home staging companies offer services, like, consultations, staging days, blended services, project management, clutter management, inventory rental, Realtor/vendor referral programs and much more.

Let’s go over these service options home staging companies typically offer (Note: the name of the services and description of the services vary depending on the staging company):

Staging Consultations. A home stager will usually visit the home, take measurements and photos. Can advise your clients on what needs to be done to stage their property. This can be done in verbal or written format, clients then do the work. The consultation takes about an hour and can cost anywhere from $75-$300, which in many cases will be applied to further staging services. This is an invaluable service, if your client doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, but could benefit from some expert advice.

Staging Day. Stagers evaluate the home as mentioned above, give a bid on how much it will cost for the home staging company to complete the work. Set the date and stage it. Home stagers will tackle the rooms and projects discussed in the proposed plan. Some of tasks may include, rearranging furniture, hanging artwork, light painting, cleaning and decluttering, displaying vignettes, etc. Basically, anything the room needs to showcase the space, keeping in mind the client’s budget.

Blended Staging Services. This service is for homeowners with a limited budget and like the DIY approach. The homeowner and stagers work together. It would be important for the stager to do the major rooms though.

Project Management. Many times multiple projects are needed to get a home ready for a sale, a stager can offer project management services. They handle the entire project and manage painters, carpet installs, cleaners, handyman, etc. This frees up your time, as a Realtor, to focus on marketing and selling the listing. It can also take the burden off the homeowner, so they can focus on daily responsibilities and not become overwhelmed with the selling process.

Clutter Management. Maybe you can’t see your client’s hardwood floors, or their closets are stuffed to the max. If your client has clutter stagers have techniques to help them get rid of it. Clutter management, similar to professional organization can help your clients straighten out, provide storage solutions, can help pack items away, many stagers even have relationships with junk removal, storage, estate sale companies and also have the ability to arrange pick-ups with organizations, like Goodwill. They can give client’s the tools needed to keep the home clutter-free while on the market too.

Inventory Rental. Many home staging companies own their own accessories and in many cases own furniture, that they will then rent to their clients. This inventory gives the clients an option to rent vs. buy items to enhance the look of the home. These items range from bedding to artwork to large pieces of furniture. Inventory rental services are especially used when a home is vacant.

Realtor/Vendor Referral Programs. This service helps build relationships between the staging company and Realtors, as well as other pertinent vendors. In the scenario mentioned above stagers can be a great referral source for Realtors and can even offer discounts for Realtors who consistently provide business.

Where does YOUR success lie? According to the TOP 92% of Professionals in this industry, 66% of THEIR business comes from four sources:

1.Family
2.Friends
3.Close Acquaintances
4.Referrals from the first three

I believe that the most effective thing any business professional can do to build their business both in long term and short term, is to become more “visible, become more “likable” and friend creative ways to get more people to “remember” you. People do business with people they know, like and remember.

This is not a mailing list. Your Business Base is a collection of people that you personally know. Build your list to at least 250 people and every month you will do a SEND which can be an email or a mail out. Then you are going to alternate one month CALLING and then the next month SEE.

This is one of the systems that the top 4% of the agents who do 74% of all the transactions are doing. If you work your Business Base properly, it will generate 75% of all your transactions. To me this is working smarter, not harder.

If you work this system, one out of every 12 people will do a transaction with you or send you a referral that leads to a transaction.

If you would like a copy of the Business Base emailed to you, please let me know.

I am Cindy MacKenzie from Prospects Plus! I have been teaching Real Estate Agents Lead Generating ideas for the past 12 years and I was an Agent for 10 years myself. I have incredible programs from Automated Just Listed Just Sold Postcards, Getting Listings Sold that increases the odds of selling your own listing by 3 TIMES and Tori will be giving you 50% off your first order. Last but not least is a software program called Prospects Plus! which has over 750 different marketing pieces for you ready to go and even GUARANTEES you 6 EXTRA TRANSACTIONS a year.

For any information on these systems or programs, you can contact me at:
c.mackenzie@prospectsplus.com or 248-760-4308

We want our clients to say, “they got a good deal on home staging.” At Stylish Stagers, Inc. we strive on positioning ourselves to price competitively, while trying to provide a price point for every need and budget. With that said, every home staging is different, some homes need a paint job, while others may need rental furniture, and still some may just need to remove clutter.

So, what determines the cost of a home staging proposal? For Stylish Stagers, Inc. it’s a combination of affordability, while making a profit to cover overhead. It’s a combination of five things we analyze to come up with the best possible price for your clients.

Planning — is just one of many services included in a one-time staging fee charged to clients. The staging fee is the labor involved in the project’s completion. Planning is apart of Room Design, Selecting Inventory, Room Configuration and Set-Up which also make up the staging fee. This fee also includes, Delivery, Load and Unload, Pick-Up and De-Staging the home once sold. 50% of the staging fee is required as a deposit to move forward with the project.

Rental Furniture – our company does not supply rental furniture, those big ticket items like sofas, beds or dining tables. We team up with a rental furniture company to provide those items to your client. It is an additional monthly fee on the proposal seperate from the one time staging fee. There is a three month minimum. This fee is determined based on how much furniture and quality of furniture your clients can afford. They would pay this company directly, we would take care of picking out the furniture and being there for delivery.

Inventory — Stylish Stagers, Inc. will provide rental accessories from our own inventory, if needed. The accessories include, but are not limited to bedding, artwork, towels, curtains countertop accents, etc. This is an additional charge seperate from the rental furniture and one-time staging fee. This is also a monthly fee, with a three month minimum required. All items are subject to purchased. The average rate is a few hundred dollars a month on vacant spaces, while it’s usually much less for owner-occpuied homes.

Cost – Home stagers can charge anywhere from $75 to $300 an hour as part of their one-time staging fee.

Estimate – a proposal is just that, an estimate based on what a professional stager needs to have for the home to be attractive to potential buyers. After the project is complete, the cost of rental items could cost a little more or less than what was anticipated. 

By Gary Capaldo of Professional Client Solutions

You have all heard about the 80/20 rule.  Eighty percent of sales are usually made by the top 20% of the producers.  In your company, I’m sure you can identify the top 20% (maybe you’re in that group), but can you identify the skills, strategies and techniques they use to get there?  If you are looking for ways to improve your sales, then compare yourself or your sales team to the list below and see how many things you are doing, or could be doing, to move you into the top 20%.  

1.  They have made a commitment to learning and using proven skills, techniques and strategies to make sure they are the best at what they do.
2.  They are focused on their client’s needs and desires, more so than on themselves- they always go the extra mile.
3. They are passionate on what they do and always protect their attitude. – Positive results always follow a positive attitude. Negativity spreads like a cancer, never surround yourself with anyone that has a negative attitude.
4. They are the hardest working sales reps in their industry.  They are often the first ones at the office, on the phones, and usually the last to leave.  They are rarely at the coffee machine or the kitchen and usually have lunch at their desk. They would rather spend “downtime” doing research or preparing for their next close.
5. They are constantly learning and implementing new techniques.  They listen to recordings about the newest sales techniques and strategies.  This is often done while they’re in their car instead of listening to the radio which they consider “chewing gum” for their ears. 

1. They are prepared in advance for the objections they get over and over again.  By being prepared in advance of objections, they can listen more effectively to what their client’s real objections are because they are not busy trying to think of what they should say next.
2. They are constantly working on their personal network and building relationships.  “Planting seeds” to keep their pipeline full.  They are always marketing.
3. They always prepare for the following day, so when they come in, they can get right to work and get the best use of their time.
4. They know about their competition and understand who and what they are selling against.
5.  They build their business faster than the other 80% by asking for and working referrals.

Typically your best clients come to you through referrals from your centers of influence and your past clients.  You must have provided exceptional service and you must be on your clients and center of influence’s mind as often as possible.  It helps to also have some sort of personal relationship.  “Friends” typically recommend their friends to people.  Wouldn’t it be great to be considered a friend to your past clients and centers of influence. 

At Professional Client Solutions we have found that systematic, customized greeting card mailings to your past clients and your sphere of influence are one of the best ways to help deepen these relationships. Why greeting cards you may ask?  Below are some of the many reasons why.

• They are unique
• They have a 99% open rate
• They get read immediately
• Are most often displayed- typically a 30 day shelf life
• Inexpensive
• Impressive and remembered
• Never mistaken for junk mail
• Receiving greeting cards make people feel good and smile.
• They are personal and designed to build relationships!

Professional Client Solutions is the company you can outsource this task to.  We handle everything, including customizing the cards specific to your business, managing your database, preparing, printing, inserting your business cards if your chose, sealing, attaching commemorative stamps and actually hand signing your name (we do not scan your signature).  They get mailed timely, consistently and professionally.  We do all of the work and you get all of the credit.  Your customers will never know you outsourced this task.  All of this for less than the cost of an average greeting card.  You will get positive feedback from your database.  Please give us a call at 732-696-1214 to see how we can help you build relationships, loyalty and referrals.  We also offer no cost, no obligation consultations right at your place of business. We look forward to hearing from you.

Walking into a vacant space can be quite exhausting for a buyer who doesn’t have that creative touch. A vacant home not only looks smaller, but as little as, 10% of home buyers can visualize the potential of a vacant space, which can make this a hard sell for many Realtors.

There are a few ways to go about helping buyers notice the positive features of a vacant home depending on the seller’s budget. While I would always recommend furnishing the home through home staging, first here are two suggestions to keep costs down.

If your sellers are screaming poverty and refuse to spend money on staging after you’ve educated them of the benefits, then as a Realtor at the very least try to walk around with the buyer, you be their imagination. Tell them where that couch could go, how big of a bed would fit in this space, where they could have their office, yet also spend family time. Take out the tape measure so they get a sense of how big the space is or even tape out on the floor how big a furniture item is. Go the extra mile to get them to visualize their own items in this empty, desolate space.

But maybe your sellers have a few hundred dollars to attract buyers, take advantage of this budget and opt for virtual staging. By using the homes actual images you can see what the property would look like if it were furnished. It will appear if the furniture is actually in the home when the photos are used as a marketing tool to help lure buyers to the home, the only downside it’s still a vacant space when they walk. So be sure to get blow-up pictures of the virtual staging and showcase in each room and again, you be their imagination.

Now, if your client has a few thousand to spend on staging the home with rental furniture, then it’s important to choose items that are not only flattering to the buyer, but are authentic to the location and style of the home. Remember home staging is an invaluable marketing tool that can help your client’s home stand out amongst the competition.

Our company recently staged a vacant home inside Turtle Bay Towers at 210 East 46^thSt. in New York City.After changing Realtors, EAR Properties obtained the listing and was faced with a challenge to get this space sold. They had to think outside the box and called us to stage this vacant 1-bedroom Co-Op, that overlooked the U.N. Building. As stagers we consider not only who we’re trying to appeal to, but use the location of the home as inspiration. In this transformation, we merged cultures to create a harmonious, edgy design that could appeal to a diplomat from another country or maybe a young local who’s trying to make their way up the political food chain.    

This staging not only made a huge difference in showing off the amount of space in this Co-op, but now when buyers walk-in there is a clear vision, purpose to each room and the amount of furniture that would fit into the space.
 See All Before and After Pictures…

The call comes in Mr. or Mrs. Realtor I’d like you to represent me in selling my home. You hang up excited, you’ve been dying to get a home in this neighborhood and start preparing for the listing presentation immediately. With no idea on what to expect you’ve siked yourself up and are ready to WOW your clients, but once you walk into their beloved home, you realize their isn’t much to write home about.

Do you have a house on the market that has rooms that look like this?

The bedroom (on left) located at 445 E.86th St. in New York City, was in dyer need of color. The white walls matched an outdated white fan, a white roman shade and was complet with a white bedding set. Needless to say the size of the room and the color made buyers feel as if they would be sleeping in an insane asylum rather than a trendy hotel.  The Realtor knew she needed to fix this, so called in Stylish Stagers, Inc. to turn this drab bedroom into a comfortable retreat.

Since this space was techinically a studio apartment this enclosed bedroom was a real selling feature! We decided to up the ante by bringing in a sophisticated color palette. By using the color purple we brought in the idea of luxury and wealth. It’s the color of royalty and represents a feminine, romantic side of this space. We affaliated purple with it’s complementary shade of green. The color green symbolizes nature. It’s the easiest color on the eye is calming and refreshing. People waiting to appear on TV sit in “green rooms” to relax, so the same concept can be applied when focusing on a color scheme for a bedroom, which should be the most relaxing room in the home.

A home stager can play with color to create  specific mood for buyers to feel when they walk into a space. Playing with their emotions can not only help them visualize living in the space, but it may make them more at ease to open their wallets and make an offer. Take a look at the same bedroom above after we staged it with color.
 

Similiar to this space,  a 2-bed Co-op located in the Landmark building on 59th St. in New York City had a color problem with their living room and master bedroom. Everything in those rooms were  infused with the colors tan and brown, which are backbone colors to start with in a room. Brown is a solid, reliable color that best represents earth, but can create a sad and wistful mood for buyers if there is too much.

Take a look at this living room, it’s dark  brown floors are decorated with tan walls, tan artwork, tan rug, tan couch and brown pillows. Where does your eye go first, when all you see are shades of brown?

One of the most important steps during the home staging process is directing the buyer’s eyes through color to focus on postive areas and focal points rather than the negatives of the home.

This space has a great starting point, and it’s okay to go neutral with walls, flooring and furniture because then you can add a  splash color in the room with accessories, and that’s exactly what Stylish Stagers, Inc. did with this living room. 

By using red, the most emotionally intense color, in this space we were able to direct the buyer’s eye to the couch the main focal point in a living room, as well as, the great view of the 59th Street Bridge that surrounded the room with natural light. We teamed-up the color red with another primary color, yellow, by popping the cheerful sunny attention getter color in accessories, then used orange, the secondary color made up from the colors red and orange. Now where does your eye go first? See how easy color can change your perspective? 

So we now know color can enhance a buyers emotions and can help direct the buyer’s eyes, but just how easy can we implement this into our own homes and at what cost? Perhaps, we can answers those questions by looking at the same Co-op’s master bedroom. Again this room had all the major pieces, a bed, nightstands, even a bench at the foot of the bed. The problem was it lacked romance, sophiscation and the flower pattern on the bed wasn’t saying buy me for nearly a $900,000 asking price.

By adding a neutral duvet set for $64, two round mirrors for $48, red throw for $30, green pillow for $24, red rose pillow for $28 and a small bunch of fake flowers $5. For nearly $200 this bedroom went from a chaotic mess to a honeymooner’s paradise, which picture would be easier for you to sell when it comes time for the open house?

To check out all the pictures for these homes CLICK HERE, and if you know someone looking to buy a property like this contact Deanne Esses.

In Real Estate you want to maximize the square footage of a space and get the most bang for your buck, that’s where functionality comes in.  When a home is on the market a home stager can easily provide decluttering, rearranging or adding furniture services to help increase the sale, however, it’s important to create two, three or even four defined functions within one space.

Stylish Stagers, Inc. maximizes the function of a room by target staging, when we hone in on a buyer’s lifestyle. If the home on the market is a two bedroom geared for couples with a newborn and one partner works from home, based on the demographics we obviously have to create an office, which could become the dual function in the living room. If not the sale is a bust.

Another instance is when the family room not only has to be a playroom for kids, but also for adults, it needs to serve two totally different lifestyles by inserting function into the design or “staging blueprint.”  

Within the functions of those spaces we create moments, where a little girl can play tea party or show where a woman can sit down to finish her manuscript, or maybe it’s a man who wants to play cards with his friends. It’s these everyday moments that can transpire these functional spaces into the dreams of how buyers want to live.  

Although target staging can cost more than the normal home staging (i.e. decluttering, neutralizing) it can be an invaluable resource to closing the deal for your clients. Multiple functions means adding more furniture and accessories to the overall price, but that price could be returned to the home seller in ten-fold when a buyer discovers how efficient these hidden spaces are. You may even find yourself in a bidding war, one of the best places your client, the home seller, could be.

Chances are no.  Open houses, website campaigns and newspaper ads can be a waste of time and money in this economy, if you’re not targeting your buyer. A home in an older community on Long Island is going to attract a different buyer than one looking at a condo on the Upper West Side. So, how do you determine your target buyer? (Even if you’re not a Realtor this information can help boost sales.)

First look at the demographic profile, who is living in that neighborhood, what stores are in the area, can your home sellers provide any clues, and why would someone buy your product (in this case a home)? By determining one or two types of buyers, Stylish Stagers, Inc. can go into the home and create stories, rather than neutralize, to appeal to specific demographics. While creating a demographic profile made up of age, income, profession, gender and more it’s important to keep in mind the psychographic profile as well.

The psychographic information determines how the target market feels, what they want, what’s important to them and how they go about their daily tasks among other things. Psychographics determine what sports, arts, food, retailers buyers like to participate in. This information can help, what Matthew Finlason from HGTV’s The Stagers says, target stage a home by keeping a particular lifestyle in mind.

Our company focused on this topic at Finlason’s advanced staging course earlier this month. Lifestyle Merchandising, a term coined by the HGTV star, is a combination of researching, identifying and building a plan between the home, buyer and our company aesthetics to create a life buyers want to aspire to. With this advanced designation as a design specialist, Stylish Stagers, Inc. can help you target your buyers.

Why is this important? When a Realtor or home seller shows a property focusing on the buyer’s wants and needs they not only solve the buyer’s problems, but they make them feel go inside, as if this home was made especially for them.

Once a home is staged according to demographics and psychographics, it’s up to the Realtor to use that same research to target market to those specific buyers. For instance, rather than cast your net for a new family by doing an open house, think outside the box, where do young couples with babies hang out? Where do single women or baby boomers go? These simple questions can help you hand over the keys to your client’s home faster.